INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE IN ST. KITTS-NEVIS HOSTS SEMINAR TO SENSITIZE LOCALS ON THE IMPORTANCE OF PATENTS

Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 20, 2019 (SKNIS): Stakeholders representing government departments and ministries, the private sector, legal fraternity and tertiary institutions in St. Kitts and Nevis attended a patent sensitization workshop aimed at raising awareness on the benefits, procedures, rights and responsibilities relating to intellectual property.

The seminar, which was held on Thursday, June 20 at the Solid Waste Management Conference Room, was organized by the Intellectual Property Office – St. Kitts and Nevis (IPOSKN) in collaboration with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Acting Registrar, Jihan Williams, welcomed the participants and encouraged them to learn as much as possible.

“We are particularly pleased that you opted to join us here since the area of patents is hardly ever spoken about in our very copyright and trademark-centered society. We know and care about protecting our music, our poetry, our literature and our business brands but what about our inventions?” asked Ms. Williams. “Are we an inventive people? What are we doing with these inventions and if we are not inventing, what can we do to foster that spirit of innovation and inventiveness?”

She noted that officials at IPOSKN hope that the workshop “would inspire innovators and inventors to take their work seriously, knowing the scope for protection is available right here in St. Kitts and Nevis through our membership to the Patent Corporation Treaty.”

The acting registrar noted that IPOSKN plays its part in ensuring that stakeholders receive the necessary information to protect their rights.

“Our office has embarked on a series of public awareness initiatives that aim to educate the public and users of the IPOSKN areas of intellectual property. We have done quite a bit on copyrights, dealing specifically with musicians, visual artists and entrepreneurs,” she said, adding that as recent as February 2019 a session was held on “trademarks and filing trademark applications.”

Rolando Hernández Viguad, Head, Offices Services Section, PCT International Cooperation Division at the WIPO, in Geneva, Switzerland, is currently in St. Kitts and Nevis working with IPOSKN in providing invaluable support towards strengthening systems to ensure that the organization can better serve the national and international audience.

He noted that “patents are very important commercial tools that are widely used all around the world”.